THE SIN OF INDIFFERENCE

 

Homily for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Scriptural Texts: Amos 6:1a.4-7, 1 Timothy 6:11-16, Luke 16:19-21

 

The gospel reading of this Sunday is on the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus told this parable to portray the selfishness and disregard of the Pharisees toward the poor. In the parable, both the rich man and Lazarus lived in the same neighborhood but while the rich man was dressed in purple and fine linen, Lazarus was covered with sores. The rich man used to feast magnificently every day but Lazarus longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table and even the dogs came and licked his sores. The rich man never took notice of the plight of the poor beggar, Lazarus.

Lazarus resolved his hunger by eating the scraps like a dog (Mark 7:28). Dogs were unclean animals for Jews. The dogs that licked the sores of Lazarus were not the pet dogs of the rich man, but wild dogs on the street that were also there searching for food leftovers from the rich man’s table thrown in the waste bin. Probably, the dogs would have taken a good portion of the leftovers. Lazarus had to compete with them for food and he was one among the wild dogs. The dogs were adding to his pain because they were feeding on his open sores. The dogs in the parable added to the pathetic situation of Lazarus.

When the rich man died, he discovered there has been a massive reversal of fortune. The beggar has been welcomed into paradise, while the rich man was the one in torment. The fact that Lazarus entered heaven and the rich man did not does mean that Jesus was extolling poverty as a way of life and condemning affluence. Not at all! Lazarus reached Abraham’s bosom not because of his less fortune situation in the world, but simply because he kept up his faith in God during the test of poverty and sickness in his life with patience. His name “God is my helper” was expressive of his reliance on God like Job of the Old Testament. He was poor and in pains but he did not allow his condition to affect his faith in God.

If we analyze the reason why the rich man was sent to hell, we will understand another dimension of sin. The great sin of the rich man was his total, unfeeling, indifference, his complete lack of any sensitivity towards Lazarus. He just did not notice Lazarus. The rich man went to hell not because he did what he should not have done (sin of commission) but because he did not do what he should have done (sin of omission). While he enjoyed his luxury and wealth, he did not lift a finger to help the pathetic situation of the poor beggar, Lazarus who lay all day at his gate.

Through this parable, Jesus is reminding us that we can all make a positive difference in the life of others. It is true that many of us are struggling financially in this hard time, but we can all do something, no matter how small, for someone who is worse off than we are. It is not always the size of what we can give that matters but the spirit in which it is given. Jesus wants us to evaluate our attitude towards people like Lazarus- the poor, needy, vulnerable, destitute, outcasts and those in the margin of the society. Like the rich man, do we turn a blind eye to their plight? The rich man was so absorbed in himself that he failed to notice Lazarus and also notice God’s call to him to him through Moses and the prophets. God calls and speaks to us especially through the sufferings and plight of our fellow human beings. Let us pray for the grace to be attentive to the several ways in which God is calling us.